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Minn. roundup: Man, 24, dies in drive-by shooting in Richfield; Former Detroit Lake principal in trouble in Shakopee school

RICHFIELD, Minn. — A 24-year-old man is dead after a drive-by shooting in Richfield on Monday night, police say.

Officers found a man lying on on the street, with at least one gunshot wound to the chest around 11:20 p.m. Monday. Callers reported to 911 dispatchers that they heard four to five shots fired in the area, Richfield police say.

Witnesses said the shots came from a 1990s gray minivan with a sliding door on the driver's side. Four people were in the van, witnesses told police.

Paramedics treated the victim but he died at the scene.

Police continue to investigate.

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Western Minnesota passenger who died when motorcycle hit deer is identified

ORTONVILLE, Minn.—A 56-year-old woman who was a passenger on a motorcycle that hit a deer on Saturday afternoon and died as a result of her injuries has been identified.

She is Karen Kay Oakes of Ortonville, who was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by her husband, Thomas, 56.

According to the Minnesota Highway Patrol, the 2014 Harley Davidson was traveling north on Minnesota Highway 7 near Eternal Springs Road in far western Minnesota when a deer ran into the road.

The motorcycle hit the deer and spun around, causing the two to both be ejected.

Thomas Oakes was also taken to the Ortonville hospital but had non-life-threatening injuries.

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Father dies, son injured in ATV crash in northwest Minnesota

ROUND LAKE TOWNSHIP, Minn. — A father is dead and his son was taken to a Fargo, N.D., hospital to be treated for injuries after an ATV accident near here Tuesday, July 4.

According to a release from Becker County Sheriff's Office, emergency crews were called just after midnight to South Elbow Lake Road in Round Lake Township for the report of an ATV accident involving three men, one of whom was unconscious at the scene.

When emergency personnel arrived, they found 47-year-old Anthony Robert Ortiz Sr. of Soap Lake, Wash., dead at the scene. His son, 21-year-old Anthony Robert Ortiz Jr., also of Soap Lake, was airlifted to Essentia Health Hospital in Fargo. A third man, who was not identified by the Sheriff's Office, denied any medical treatment at the scene.

The extent of Ortiz Jr.'s injuries was unknown by Tuesday afternoon, the release said.

Sheriff's deputies believe Ortiz Sr. was driving a side-by-side ATV when he lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over on top of him. Alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, the release said.

The accident is still under investigation.

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Former Detroit Lake principal in trouble in Shakopee school

SHAKOPEE, Minn.-- Former Detroit Lakes High School Principal Rod Thompson, who left Detroit Lakes under a cloud about 16 years ago, allegedly after an affair with a subordinate, has resigned under fire from his position as superintendent of the Shakopee School District.

His resignation came after a police investigation and a search warrant issued on Thompson's property. The search warrant affidavit refers to purchases of more than $3,500 that Thompson made, including a TV and a trip to Nashville with his wife. The affidavit stated Thompson said he reimbursed the district for purchases he made with his district credit card. Thompson stated that the charges were "unintentional."

The police investigation stemmed from an investigation undertaken by members of the community, a Facebook group called Concerned Citizens of Shakopee, and the Shakopee Valley News newspaper.

Some Shakopee residents, population 40,000, had been upset about Thompson and lack of information from the school district after Thompson e-mailed staff in March that a human error had led to a more than $4.5 million budget shortfall.

Thompson left Detroit Lakes to become principal and then superintendent at Greenway School District, and some Shakopee residents were upset at news reports that showed Thompson had also discovered a $700,000 budget shortfall while he was at Greenway, where he was hired in 2002.